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Weekend full of events

The Toast to Tamarac event is held at Richwood Winery on Friday. VICKI GERDES/DL NEWSPAPERS

Though summer may be officially over for this year, there will be no shortage of activities, both indoor and outdoor, to keep lakes area residents busy this weekend.

Here’s a little sampling of what to expect over the course of the next four days.

Lake Park Pumpkin Fest

From Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 26-28, the community of Lake Park will host its annual Pumpkin Fest celebration.

Thursday night’s kickoff festivities will include the Lil’ Miss Pumpkin Fest Pageant, starting at 7 p.m. inside the Lake Park-Audubon High School Theater. The pageant will be followed by a three-man golf scramble at Green Valley Golf Course, which continues all day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Other Friday activities will include the judging of the Pumpkin Fest Yard Decorating Contest at 5 p.m., which is also when volunteers will begin taking registrations for Saturday’s Pumpkin Carving Contest. Entries will be accepted from 5 to 7 p.m. at the City Center.

The annual LP-A Raider Homecoming festivities begin with a little Friday night football, as the Raiders take on the Frazee Hornets at 7 p.m. on the new LP-A football field. The game will be followed by fireworks at 10 p.m.

A full slate of activities is planned for Saturday, starting with the Lake Park Garden Club’s plant and produce sale inside the American Legion, which gets underway at 8 a.m.

The action shifts to the new LP-A High School at 9 a.m., as the annual craft and vendor show gets underway; there will be a shuttle from the Legion to the high school and back again once every half hour until 2:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, over at the old high school site, there will be a one-mile Youth Fun Run departing from the building’s east side at 8:30 a.m., followed by a 5K Run/Walk at 9 a.m.

At 9:30 a.m., there will be a Kids’ Pedal Tractor Pull in the alley behind the school bus garage, starting at 9:30 a.m.; also at the bus garage, there will be a display of modern and classic tractors from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Entries in the pumpkin carving and decorating contest will be on display at the Lake Park City Center from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and there will be pumpkin crafts on display at The Glass Lady studio on Lake Street from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

There will be walking tours through the historic Amdal House, as well as horse and tractor-drawn wagon rides, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Lake Park Garden Club will host “A Taste of Pumpkin” at the American Legion at 10 a.m., and the Lake Agassiz Library LINK site will host an open house and children’s storytime starting at 10:30 a.m.

There will be kids’ barrel train rides near the fire station, and kids’ games at the City Park, both starting at 11 a.m.

The Legion will host a Pumpkin Pie Polka walk at noon, followed by speed pumpkin cleaning and pumpkin carving contests starting at 12:30 and 1 p.m., respectively.

There will be a kiddie parade at 2:15, followed by the grand parade at 2:30 p.m. The festivities will begin to wind down with a pie and ice cream social and a brat feed, both starting at 3:30 p.m., followed by prize drawings and a bean bag toss competition both starting at 4 p.m.

Jeff Scherer, designer of the addition to the Detroit Lakes Public Library, will help the library celebrate its centennial year with a presentation on how he designed elements that carry over from the original Carnegie library to the addition and the challenges and joys of designing around a historic building. The program begins at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, and is open to all. Call 847-2168 for more information.

Historic Holmes Theatre

The Holmes Theatre season gets its official kickoff this Thursday, Sept. 26, with a 7:30 p.m. concert by the Galactic Cowboy Orchestra. Tickets are $18 for adults, $9 for students, and may be purchased online at www.dlccc.org, by calling 218-844-7469 or at the Box Office, 806 Summit Ave., Detroit Lakes.

Additional jam sessions will be held on the last Sunday of each month through the winter and spring months. Session dates are as follows: Oct. 27, Nov. 24, Jan. 26, Feb. 23, March 30 and April 27.

All levels of experience are welcome; those interested in participating are invited to come together and enjoy meeting other area musicians as they participate in jamming out tunes of various genres from American and Scandinavian old-time to country, blues, classic rock, pop and more. All instruments and vocalists are welcome. There is no cost to participate.

Toast to Tamarac

The Toast to Tamarac returns to Richwood Winery for a third straight year on Friday, Sept. 27.

Hosted by the Friends of Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge, this fundraiser runs from 4 to 8 p.m., with proceeds benefitting the Refuge’s environmental education programs.

A wine tasting, appetizers, silent auction, games of chance and live music by the David Ferreira Trio will also be a part of the festivities.

Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 at the door, and will include a special commemorative wine glass. Advance tickets may be purchased at Central Market, or by calling 218-846-9815 or 218-847-7193.

Imagination Hoedown

A special Hoedown to benefit the Detroit Lakes Imagination Library will also take place on Friday at the Shorewood Pub.

From 5:30 to 11 p.m., the pub will be filled with music, food, live and si-lent auctions, fun and fellowship, with all prof-its from the evening going directly to the Imagination Library, a local branch of the international reading program started by country music icon Dolly Parton to help put books into the hands of young children.

Sponsored locally by the Holy Rosary Moms Group, the program pro-vides books to children under the age of 5, delivered directly to their families’ homes each month. Each $35 ticket to the Hoedown will fund the cost of one child’s participation in the Imagination Library for one year; the program is geared toward children under age 5.

Tickets start at $15 and can be purchased by phone at 1-800-313-SHOW, online at www.StarCasino.com, or via the “Events” tab on Shooting Star’s Facebook page.

Fire & Ice Experience

Essentia Health St. Mary’s Foundation hosts the Fire & Ice Experience fundraiser beginning at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28 inside The Fireside. There will be three culinary stations, hors d-oeuvres and a variety of wines and beers. The silent auction includes many items including a cruise on Pickerel Lake, WE Fest tickets, Vikings tickets, getaways and more. Tickets are $60 a person and available by calling Essentia Health St. Mary’s-Detroit Lakes at 844-0719 or visiting the gift shop.

Come enjoy the beautiful fall colors with fun outdoor activities, including hayrides to the top of Toad Mountain, a petting zoo, and even fall color trail rides by request. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for children age 5 and under.

Blessing of the Animals

A special “Blessing of the Animals” service will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday inside St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Detroit Lakes. All creatures great and small are invited to bring their humans to the service. The offering will be given to the Becker County Humane Society. Please bring pets on leashes or in a carrier. Refreshments will be served for all guests and their people following the service. For more information, call the church office at 847-5858.

Patriot Dog Graduation

The Patriot Assistance Dogs program presents, “Serving Those who Serve,” from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday in the Detroit Lakes Veterans Memorial Park. The event includes recognition of each vet-eran and their Patriot Dog, the honor and sacrifices they have made, a presentation of awards, music and a keynote speech from Bradley Livingston, a 2012 graduate of the Patriot Dog training program. There will be brats, hot dogs, chips and more served following the ceremony.

Photo safari

Experience autumn on the Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge, through the lens of a camera! With the fall colors nearing their peak, participants will travel by car caravan to some very scenic and perhaps less known areas on the refuge. Discover how Tamarac’s wildlife and plants prepare for winter, while getting some great photos along the way.

Meet at the Chippewa Picnic Area located on County Highway 26, three miles east of the visitor center; free admission. Info: 218-847-2641.

Staff writer at Detroit Lakes Newspapers for the past 16 years, currently editor of the entertainment and community pages as well as covering city council and the Lake Park-Audubon School Board. Living in DL with my cat, Smokey.